Right move on licenses

Published 5:11 pm, Thursday, May 23, 2013

Bravo to the Connecticut House for its passage Thursday of a bill that would let people living in the country illegally get a Connecticut driver's license.

While Washington sorts out what the national policy on immigration is going to be, there's no sense in Connecticut standing around waiting.

As we've said repeatedly, the bill has practical and moral benefits: To get a license a driver has to display his or her proficiency in a road test; a licensed driver is required to have insurance, and the anxiety can ease for hundreds, if not thousands, of drivers who are driving on eggs for fear of being stopped for even the most minor of motor vehicle infractions.

Many of those drivers are hard-working, taxpaying small-business owners.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has the right perspective on the bill: "I want every driver in the state of Connecticut to prove that they are a safe driver, regardless of where they came from."

And at the scene of future motor vehicle accidents, the police will have one more tool for identifying the people involved.

The bill, which passed the House by a 74-55 vote, now goes to the Senate, where Democrats, who were the primary supporters of the bill in the House, hold a 22-14 edge.

It would go into effect Jan. 1, 2015.

An independent analysis of the situation by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research estimates some 54,000 undocumented residents will apply for licenses over the next three years.

Applicants would have to prove their identity with various types of official documents, even if they're of foreign origin.

The bill allows for creation of a group that would establish methods to verify foreign documents.

State Rep. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, had it right when he said recently, "When we place artificial restrictions on the access of any member of our community to the full fruits of what we have to offer here in Connecticut, we are holding ourselves back."

As with any other process by which identification cards are issued, the checks set up in this process have to be tight.

We fully expect the state Senate, too, will see the value of taking this step.